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THE 



H A. STOLLENWERCK & BROS., 



FOR 



ON THE 



DESTBflGTION Of i CATEBPILLAR, 

AWARDED TO 

V 

J. D. HOITT, - - - Livingston, Ala, 






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SELMA, ALA., AVGUST 14TH, 1873. 
MR. GEO. O. BAKER, 

Pres. Selma, Ala. Exposition, 
Dear Sir : 

The efforts made to destroy the caterpillar by 
poisonous applications will, we hope, have been sufficiently tested 
to develop some sure and effectual plan to destroy them on future 
crops. 

We think it has been fully demonstrated that arsenio.is prepara- 
tions will destroy them. The future want of this country is the 
best and cheapest formula, combined with the^most expeditious 
manner to apply it, either in solution or powder, and also the right 
time to the growing cotton. 

We authorize you to offer a premium, properly inscribed, of a 
Silver Pitcher, worth ^100, for the best essay written on this sub- 
ject and embracing the above points, to be awarded by a committee 
of four or five f)lanters selected by you, who have an experience 
in the application of arsenious preparations, and who have confi- 
decne in the practical success of the plan to give it their endorse- 
ment. 

Very respectfullv, 

H. A. STOLLENWERCK & BROS. 



SELMA, ALA., July 14th, 1874. 
To the President and Directors of the Selma Exposition, 
Dear Sirs : 

We, the undersigned, appointed by you to examine the 
essays on the destruction of the cotton worm, respectfully decide 
that, ih our judgment, Mr. J. D. Hoyt, of Livingston, Ala., is en- 
titled to the prize of Messrs. H. A. Stollenwerck & Bros. 

Many of the essays are entitled to honorable mention, and con- 
tain much valuable information, and we recommend that they all 
be published. 

Respectfully, 

William W. Drane, 
josiAH Alexander, 
James H. Robinson. 



OF 

Destroying the Cotton Worm, 



At lasL when the knowledge is brought 
home to us, with<ait trouble or labor on our 
part, it has become a clear matter of fact 
that tht! great enemy of tlie Cotton Crop — 
the Cotton Worm '{Anomis Xylina) — can 
easily be destroyed. And how simple are 
the means found to be; — as nearly all triiths 
are when understood. Fogyism will now, 
probably, cease to laugh, as the remedy has 
become a/ac^, and not an experiment. Yet 
how many have, probably, been deterred 
from experimenting in this very matter, for 
fear of ridicule. Fulton had his scoffers, 



3 

when first applying steam as a motive-power 
to vessels. Bui such did not invent the En- 
gine, the Cotton Gin, the Telegraph, the Sew- 
ing Machine, th- Heaper and Mower. We 
ot the South have not been an inventive peo- 
ple in the past. Our domestic institution 
tended not to stimulate in that line of enter 
prise. But times and conditions have 
changed; and we are becoming more an in- 
vestigating and inventing people. 

The question of destroying the cotton 
worm is one of importance, from the fre- 
quency and suddenness of the damage to 
the crop,— amounting to $20,000,000 in a sin- 
gle fortnight, as has been estimated; and 
ma3^ as has been done in the past, destroy 
nearly the whole crop. Yet, heretofore, no 
successful mode of relief has been devised; 
nor have our State governments offered in- 
ducements or employed competent men to 
seek a remedy or to investigate the obscure 
subject of entomology as have some of the 
other States; and to which means we are 
much indebted for the knowledge we have 
on this subject. 

To the address of Prof. Riley of Missouri, 
at the National Agricultural Congress at 



Indianapolis, are we much indebted for the 
impulse given to the destroying of the cotton 
worms by poison the present year. But of 
the patent rights which have been offered to 
the public, we cannot see much merit of 
original discovery in the use of poisons pro- 
posed, as substantially, the same have been 
used- as stated in the Agricultural Reports- 
a number of years in the Western States; to 
destroy the Colorado potato hug. And al 
though a certain mixture might be rightly 
patented, that is a condition of but little im- 
portance. 

Paris Gfreen or Scheele's (jtYe^in{arsemte of 
copper) is the certain agent for the preserva- 
tion of the cotton crop from the ravages of the 
cottonworms. Flour is probably the best ma- 
terial for admixture with the poison to fix it 
on the cotton leaves — one part of the poison 
to twenty parts of flour has been recom- 
mended. But, we must add, this is a dan- 
gerous mixture and may lead to fatal acci- 
dents. Also ashes, plaster, lime, etc., have 
been used as much cheaper than flour— par- 
ticularly in our cotton section. All of these 
the writer has used, and found that a small 
part flour will answer every purpose; — saj 



five pounds to twenty of plaster and one of 
the poison, thoroughly incorporated. And 
also all plaster {gypsum) has proved entirely 
effectual. Lime is objectionable on account of 
its impalpable dust rising and floating in the 
air or wind, in the manipulation and applis 
cation of it, and which is unpleasant and in- 
jurious to the lungs. Ashes is also a coarse 
'material and dusty in a wind. And we must 
say that the land plaster is the best material, 
on the score of economy and convenience, 
being cheap, heavy and free of dust in the 
handling, and very well secures the poison 
on the rough surface of the cotton leaves. 
Then it is generally worth its cost as a fertil- 
izer on the land. And, on the whole, we 
must recommend this for general use in our 
cotton plantations, — say twenty-five to thirty 
pounds plaster to one of the poison, well in- 
corporated, by mixing in a box or barrel, 
say a spoonful to the twenty-five times that 
quantity of the plaster, and so on till enough 
for a given area of cotton — say an acre — be 
mixed. Then, after thoroughly stirring the 
mass, it should be sifted through a common 
meal sewe^ to insure thorough incorporation; 
and this is best to be done a day or two be- 



6 

lore using. One to two pounds of the poison 
is enough for an acre of cotton, — depending 
on the size of the cotton and quantity of fol- 
iage to be dusted. 

The best mode of application is with com- 
mon meal sifters lined with muslin, and hav- 
ing handles three or four feet long, inserted 
through both rims of the sifters and secured. 
With the preparation in these, a small quan- 
tity at a time, hands of a fair intelligence, by 
passing along, the rows, holding the seive 
over the cotton, and gently tapping them or 
the handles with a stick or the hand, the fol- 
iage can be lightly dusted. And the coating 
must be light, the least quantity of poison 
seeming to be eifectaal; and too much injures 
or kills the foliage — seeming to crisp it. 
And one means of securing uniformity of ap- 
plication can be by measuiing off each acre, 
and then, by calculation, use a given meas- 
ure of the preparation on each row of the 
cotton. And these means as described when 
used at the first appearance of the destruc- 
tive brood of worms, we have demonstrated 
to effectually clear the cotton of the pests 
and keep it clear. One hand can go over 
one acre per day, in suitable weather; bui 



when the wind blows it cannot be properly 
applied. It adheres best when the leaves are 
wet with dew. It destroys the worms by 
their eating it with the substance of the 
leaf. 

Arsenic {arsenioits acid) is a cheaper pois- 
on than the compound Paris Green, and is 
nearly or quite as effectual, and is used in 
the same way as above d-escribed. But it is 
even a more dangerous mixture than the 
Green, as it does not color the flour. The 
price of this, in leading markets, has been 
seven to eight cents per pound. While the 
Paris Green has been about forty cents. 
Though the short period of excitement in 
the use of these, for the worms, was 
made an occasion by dealers to double the 
prices and even more. Both articles are 
deadly poisons, in sufficient quantity, to 
either animal or vegetable life. Paris Green 
is composed of arsenic and bluestone, — the 
arsenous acid being dissolved by the agency 
of potash, in boiling water, forming ar senile 
of potas7i\ and the bluestone, or sulphate of 
copper^ is readily soluble in water. From 
these elements, on being mixed, a chemical 
union takes place, forming the Green {arse- 



8 

nite of copper) and which is gradually pre- 
cipitated to the bottom of the vessel. In this 
dissolved form we have uaed it in water, — 
about one pound of the poison in eighty or a 
hundred gallons. And this is the best form 
for use in water, as the Green, when in a fin- 
ished market form, is insoluble in water, and 
must be kept in constant agitation to pre- 
vent settling. In either case, a common wa- 
tering-pot is used to shower the cotton with. 
Or a cask mounted on a cart, could be used, 
having two or three pipes arranged to show- 
er as many rows at once, as the cart should 
be passed along astride of one or two rows, 
as the width should suit. Or the solution 
could be thrown on the cotton in the form of 
a spray ^ by the force of steam from a boiler, 
or by force-power from a piston connected 
with the wheel-hubs of the cart But we 
have found no advantage in the water mode 
of application. And, besides, it crisps and 
injures the cotton more than the dry powder; 
nor is it so lasting in its effects. Yet to ob- 
viate this objection some have recommended 
the stirring into the eighty or a hundred gal- 
lons of the preparation, about fiw^ pounds of 
flour made into a paste. But in this we have 



9 

found no advantage; and in the solution, as 
described above, it precipitates the Green, at 
once, to the bottom of the cask. 

But, we must say, that the first mode as 
described — the poison and land plaster mix- 
ture — will generally be found the best, the 
simplest and most practical mode of appli- 
cation. And when used promptly at the first 
appearance of the numerous and destructive 
brood of worms, they will be destroyed and 
the crop preserved; as myself and others 
have fully demonstrated; and the cotton has 
continued to form and mature till frost. 
Whereas, cotton that is not protected, and is 
stripped of its leaves by the worms, ceases 
all growth or further maturity, — the leaves 
being the elaborators^ in which the air and 
its gases, light and heat, and the elements of 
plant food absorbed by the roots, are brought 
in contact, and elaborated, by Nature's chem- 
ical laws, into the specific nourishing fluid, 
which, passing upward and downward, adds 
growth to the plant and its fruit. 

It may be questioned whether this poison, 
applied to cotton, becomes absorbed so as to 
render it poisonous to stock. But if the 
quantity is not sufficient to crisp or destroy 



10 

tlie leaves - as it should not — it is doubtless 
resisted hy the vegetable life; or if sparingly 
absorbed, is again eliminated, And, from 
th::^ surface, time and the rains, completely 
remove it. It is stated, however, by good 
authority, that a free application of these 
poisons to the soil, renders it deleterious to 
vegetable life. This condition, however, 
could hardly be produced by the yearly ap- 
plication for the worms. 

However efficacious the application of 
poison may be, there are many who will not 
use it — many from indiiference, or cost of the 
material and time necessary to apply it, and 
many from prejudice or caution as to the use 
of a poison. Even these need not suffer the 
destruction of their cotton crops by the 
worms; for this year's awakening to the sub- 
ject, has been the means of well demon>^ 
strating the certainty that the pests can be 
destroyed by a little work, without poison. 
Hand-picking and destroying the first brood, 
which appear generally about the first or 
middle of June, lessens the numbers of the 
succeeding generations vastly. And from 
trial myself, and the testimony of others, the 
writer feels authorized to state, that young 



11 

worms, a few days after hatching out, and 
np to the size of half growth, cannot get up 
on the cotton stalks again, either from unde- 
veloped instincts, or tlie want of strength and 
action. Then they are easily jarred, or 
brushed off, and if exposed a short time to a 
hot sun, on the ground, are killed. The most 
rapid and practical mode of doing this, is to 
drag something like a piece of cotton bag- 
ging. ak)ng over the rows of cotton, forward 
and back; which may be long enough to ex- 
tend across several rows, and having short 
lines attached to one edge, a little further 
apart than the width of the rows, and a 
hand at each line, and all abreast pass along 
between the rows, and then back; when the 
brushing and shaking of the stalks by the 
bagging will clear the cotton mostly of the 
worms. In this way, a set of hands can go 
over their crop in a da}^ or two; when they 
should return to the beginning and go over 
again; and continue so doing as long as any 
number of worms are found on the stalks. 
And they will have the satisfaction of exter- 
minating the pests and saving the crop, by a 
few days of light labor, only. This mode 
will doubtless be used very extensively here- 



12 

after, when necessary. But the Boll Worm, 
{HeUothis Armigera^ of entomologists,) has 
been pretty numerous this year, and in some 
fields has done more damage than the cotton 
worm. For this there is yet no known rem- 
edy, except by bonfires or torches, to attract 
the moths at night, when they will fly into 
the fire and are burned or their wing singed. 
The torches can be carried slowly along the 
cotton rows foi this purpose; or the fires can 
be built around the fields, and in various 
parts of it, on scaffolds, covered with sand 
or clay, about as high as the top of the cot- 
ton. These firt^s should be lighted at eve*» 
ning twilight, as the moths are then most ac- 
tive, and kept burning several hours, or till 
midnight. Also a lantern-trap has been de^^ 
vised and used for entrapping these moths, 
with some success. And plates containing 
molasses and vinegar or water, to attract 
them, and in which they stick and are de- 
stroyed, have besn used with some success. 
This moth or millei\ has wings of a yellow- 
ish white color, with a shade of red, and a 
dark band across near the maigin, and with 
dark spots near the center. The moth of the 
cotton worm is of a dull fawn color, with a 



18 

dak spot near the center. These hibernate 
through the winter, in woods, old trees, logs, 
brush, fodder houses and stacks, or wher- 
ever they can get shelter; and in this state 
come out in the spr'ng; and sometimes in 
warm days of winter are out, before their fi- 
nal exit. And this is the manner in which 
this species is preserved and continued from 
year to year. 

The impulse given to this whole subject of 
destroying these pests, of our cotton crops, is 
fortunate; and it is to be hoped that the next 
year there will be such a general and con- 
cert of action among our planters, in one or 
the other feasible modes, demonstrated, that 
this costly and valuable crop shall be effec- 
tually preserved from these ravages. 

J. D. HOYT 

Livingston, Ala. 



H. A. STOLLENWERCK & BROS., 
F. E. ST0LLENV7ERCE ^ BROS., 

3m:o::oxij:e2, 



^^i 



Commission Mercliants, 



fH are Agents for SCHOE^IELD & SONS 
"PATENT COTTON PRESSES AND 
GIN GEARING," Also for "DUBOIS 
GIN." We can confidently recommend 
them as the best in use, and will guarantee 
perfect satisfaction. The Horse Power can 
be run with Two Mules, with as much ease 
as the Old Fashion witli Six. 

They can be seen by calling at our office, 
in Selma. Send in your orders early, so as 
to prevent delay. 



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